Jim Shannon
Main Page: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)(1 day, 23 hours ago)
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Gill Furniss (in the Chair)
I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called to ask a question, and that questions must be succinct.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Chair of the Select Committee, and the Committee itself for all its hard work. Advanced technology is what the Government are tasked with doing. Moving forward with modern technology is the way forward; however, I have two quick comments.
First, on the relationship between Government and business, it is important that businesses are able to keep up with the Government’s technological advances. That is the same for individuals. I am not tech savvy, and nor are some of my constituents. The Government’s way of doing business could limit their interaction with Government and their ability to take part. The hon. Lady also wisely referred to data protection. Many of us are suspicious of where our data ends up.
I have made three points there. You were very clear, Ms Furniss, about being allowed one question; I hope you will forgive me for my three ideas around the one point.
Dame Chi Onwurah
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions, which go to the heart of the matter: the relationship between the public sector and business, and that between the public sector and the people it is meant to serve.
On business, the public sector should be able to call on the support of businesses as they themselves adopt digital products and services. It should be able to include many different businesses, from Northern Ireland to the north-east of England and across the country, rather than being reliant on a small number of often monopolistic providers. That is a point that we make very strongly in our report. It is important that the interface between the Government and business be open and competitive and not be monopolised. That is one of the things we think that the Government’s response to our report, in terms of looking to ensure the end of vendor lock-in, should help to promote.
On the interface with the public, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: the public should not need to be digital experts or super-knowledgeable on AI. The responsibility falls within Government to ensure that people’s data is safe and secure and that the public can trust the Government in handling that data, and to ensure that we have the best digital infrastructure, and transparent providers and suppliers as well.